Colorful Artpical Mondrian USB-C DAC now available in Japan

Artpical has released the Mondrian USB DAC for high-resolution music lovers in Japan. The DAC utilizes an ESS ES9281AC Pro chip to support lossless music streams. The aluminum alloy body is styled with CNC machining to resemble Dutch artist Piet Mondrian's abstract works that he created in Paris, with bold primary colors in delineated rectangular blocks.

The portable DAC supports the playback of lossless 32-bit, 768 kHz PCM, DSD512, and MQA music streams with a frequency response of 20 Hz to 40 kHz, a THD of 0.001%, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 118 dB when paired with 4.4 mm balanced headphones. Such headphones separate the left and right audio signal channels, unlike standard 3.5 mm unbalanced headphones, for reduced signal crosstalk and noise inteference.

The Mondrain DAC can connect to audio sources, including smartphones and laptops, through its USB-C port. The headphone gain can be adjusted among three levels (15 mV, 2.48 mV, or 4.1 V RMS) with a press of the Buff button located on the side of the DAC.

The Artpical Mondrian DAC has an open price, with current dealer prices in Japan ranging from 37,800 yen (~$240) at E-Earphone to 42,000 yen (~$265) at Bic Camera. MusicTeck in America has it on pre-order for $250.